Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: The Smuggler and the Saint
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“Where are you headed?”
A desert smuggler twitched his fox ears and asked. A white-haired man with a kind face answered.
“To the Demon Country.”
True to his fox-folk nature, the desert smuggler asked back with a cunning vulpine expression.
“The Demon Country... That's a bit pricey. How much were you looking to spend?”
The desert smuggler, Hwen, sized up the white-haired man from head to toe.
An impression so kind it bordered on foolish.
Yet, he was well-built, with a toned and balanced physique.
His travel clothes were stained with the smell of the sea, as if from a long voyage.
As Hwen licked his lips at the rich scent of a natural-born sucker, the first he'd smelled in a while, the white-haired man spoke.
“This is my first time being smuggled in. How much should I pay?”
“Three stones.”
One Mana Stone was worth 100 million points, so three stones were 300 million points.
Considering the average fee for a smuggler's 'bus' was one stone, Hwen was currently overcharging him by three times.
But the white-haired man nodded at once, as if the cost was of no concern.
“I'll pay.”
*Look at this guy. Paying three stones without a second thought?*
Hwen's eyes narrowed as he revised his assessment of the man.
He wasn't just a natural-born sucker; he was a walking treasure chest.
Hiding his sinister thoughts of how to fleece this guy, Hwen grinned.
“Not even trying to haggle. You're quite the magnanimous fellow. Ahem, since fate brought us together today, shall we introduce ourselves? I'm Hwen, a first-rate smuggler of the Desert Fox Folk... And you are?”
“My name is Rex.”
Hearing the man's name, Hwen couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.
A dopey face like that, and he calls himself Rex?
The name, meaning 'king', wasn't just unfitting; it was far too grand for him.
“A last name? You don't have one?”
“No. I don't really have one.”
“Well, I see. And your race? Human, perhaps?”
Was it because of the particularly menacing look in Hwen's eyes as he asked?
Rex spoke with a wry smile.
“How about I pay you one more stone to not answer that question?”
Hwen quickly accepted Rex's deal.
“Of course, that's possible. So, four stones it is?”
“Yes. Let's do that.”
Hwen extended his hand with a sly smile, and Rex took four mana stones from his inventory ring and handed them over.
Having hooked a foolish sucker and earned 400 million points in just ten minutes, Hwen spoke with a gleeful expression.
“Then wait right here. I'll finish my preparations and be right with you.”
Elated at having found a proper mark, Hwen returned to his comrades.
His fellow fox-folk asked him.
“How's this client? A good catch?”
“Fantastic. He paid two stones for passage into the Demon Country.”
The three stones he received from Rex had somehow turned into two.
A fellow fox-folk snickered and said.
“Two stones? He paid double? Haha, the guy wants to be smuggled in but doesn't even know the going rate? Is he an idiot?”
“Hey now, an idiot? Such language for our esteemed client.”
“More importantly, what's his race?”
“Human.”
Hearing Hwen's answer, his comrade's expression grew cold.
“Human... Are you sure it's okay? The white hair is a bit concerning. He's not a virus carrier, is he?”
“That was the first thing I checked. He's not. I scanned him with a detector, and no virus was found.”
“Huh, so some human bastard is walking around with his hair dyed white? Is he out of his mind? In times like these, he wouldn't have a right to complain if he woke up with a dagger in the back of his head.”
“There are quite a few human bastards who dye their hair white because demons have white hair. He's probably one of them. Well, a demon's usual appearance isn't that different from a human's anyway.”
“So he's a human bastard pretending to be a demon... Hmm, what about a horn tattoo? Did you check?”
“I didn't, but I'm sure he's human. He even paid an extra stone to not be asked about his race.”
“A whole stone? Definitely human. And one of those rare, nouveau riche ones at that.”
Hwen nodded and said.
“Anyway, what about the humans we're handing over to the clan? How many have you gathered?”
Due to the 'White Calamity' phenomenon caused by a new virus, clans on the central continent had recently begun purchasing humans.
Citing quarantine as the reason, they were buying up all human refugees without citizenship or residency and either sending them to the 'Continent of Exile' or executing them on the spot.
Thanks to this, smugglers were having a field day.
Trafficking humans was far easier and more lucrative than dealing with troublesome artifact smuggling.
“Five hundred.”
“That's a little short.”
“Can't be helped. Too many of them are turning into white corpses, so it's hard to get more.”
“True. If a white corpse appears when you're moving over a thousand people, dealing with it is a real pain.”
“Tsk, thanks to that, we're stuck carrying around these non-mana weapons we're not used to. What a hassle.”
“Yeah, you're right. Hmm, so what should we do with that guy?”
“Let's rob him when we get a chance along the way. If he's human, there won't be any repercussions.”
As Hwen and his comrades were murmuring and finalizing their plans, a scout named Kerun approached them.
Waving his brown tail, Kerun spoke.
“Hey, did you guys see that ship in the harbor?”
Hwen tilted his head and asked.
“A ship? What ship?”
“A white ship.”
“A white ship? What about it? White sails and a white deck are comm... Wait, don't tell me it's the one with a guillotine on its pirate flag?”
“That's the one you're thinking of.”
“Damn it, that's the Decapitators! What are those psychopaths doing on the central continent?”
The Decapitators.
A notorious band of pirates who roamed the Infinite World and the frontier continents, kidnapping every human they could find and decapitating anyone who bought, sold, or smuggled humans, leaving their heads on the ground.
Their fearsome reputation, renowned even in the Infinite World teeming with the powerful, was well-known here in the port city of Martina, located near both the Empire and the Demon Country.
Kerun nodded and said.
“Those crazy pirates' ship is docked in the harbor right now. And it's practically half-destroyed.”
“Half-destroyed? You're telling me there are lunatics out there who would mess with those vicious bastards?”
“Rumor has it that Black Night was chasing the white ship for a while... Maybe the two of them clashed?”
Black Night, the undisputed strongest and worst clan in the Infinite World.
The Decapitators, a rising power that had recently started making a name for itself in the Infinite World, the world of monopolizers.
Hearing that the two had clashed and that the Decapitators' flagship, the white ship, was docked in Martina, Hwen's expression hardened.
“Everyone, get ready. We're leaving Martina immediately.”
Realizing Hwen was trying to move quickly to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, his comrades began to move swiftly.
There was more than a thing or two to prepare to get the smuggling bus running.
***
A red-haired beauty with a tower shield covered in web-like cracks on her back and a greatsword broken in half slung over her shoulder asked, a cigarette dangling from her lips.
“Isabelle. Where's the Lord?”
A beautiful elf with short, golden hair and a black eyepatch over her left eye replied.
“He left.”
The red-haired beauty in dented metal armor, Solare, frowned.
“He left? Without me?”
“Are you a blockhead? Of course he had to leave you behind. If he dragged an aggro-magnet like you around, those Black Night bastards would be chasing him like goblins in heat.”
“I can disguise myself.”
“Even so, the moment things go south, you'd use your Body Fortification Art to protect the Lord. And you're the only human woman in this world who can use it. Idiot.”
Displeased with Isabelle's tone, Solare said in an angry voice.
“Hmph, I wonder if you've ever considered this. If you keep flapping that filthy mouth of yours, you might just lose all your teeth.”
“Yeah, try it. I'll run straight to the Lord and tattle on you for everything.”
Solare scowled, infuriated by Isabelle's attitude—always acting like a senior just because she met Si-woo first, and constantly using his name to throw her weight around.
“I oughta...”
“Oughta what? Oughta~ whaaat? Ah~ If you've got a problem, then hit me.”
Solare glared at the taunting Isabelle, who was shoving her pretty face forward as if to show it off, then sighed and shook her head.
“Forget it. Wasting my mental energy on someone like you is beneath me.”
“Mental energy, my ass. You're just an orc woman in a human shell, with a head full of muscle instead of brains.”
Finally, her patience worn thin, Solare exploded. She tore off her gauntlet, threw it at Isabelle, and snapped.
“I challenge you to a duel!”
*Clang!*
Isabelle mercilessly kicked the gauntlet flying toward her chest as if she were hitting a baseball with a bat.
Seeing the gauntlet fall into the sea with a sound like a can being crushed, Solare let out a piercing scream and dove into the water.
“No! My precious gauntlet, a gift from my master!”
Watching Solare swim frantically through the sea in search of her gauntlet, Isabelle snorted in victory.
“Hmph, what an idiot.”
Rina, a young girl with a youthful face who had just shed her girlish features, clicked her tongue as she watched the two of them with a pathetic look.
“Please stop teasing Solare. You're really going to get in trouble with the Lord.”
“Get lost, Allen's sister. And don't act all friendly with me. Seeing your face reminds me of Allen, and it makes me sick.”
At Isabelle's words, which were as devoid of manners as ever, Rina pouted and said.
“...You should really fix that rotten personality of yours. Isn't it because you act like that, that the Lord is freaked out and avoids you?”
“Avoids me, my ass. That bastard's just impotent. Otherwise, there's no way he would've rejected me.”
“Does an impotent man chase after one woman like that?”
“One woman? Ah, you mean that imaginary girlfriend he hasn't caught a single glimpse of despite searching for two years?”
Rina looked at Isabelle with pity. Ever since being harshly rejected by Si-woo, Isabelle had started badmouthing him like a woman scorned.
“Sigh, anyway. Look at this. It's information I got from hacking the chip of the Ancient from Black Night who attacked our ship.”
“What is it?”
“They're apparently releasing brainwashed humans onto the continent to find our 'land'.”
“What a waste of effort. No matter how hard they try, the chances of them finding that place are close to zero.”
“Still, it's better to be careful, so please send a message to the Lord.”
Isabelle shrugged and took out her smartphone.
“Fine, whatever.”
As soon as Isabelle finished speaking, Solare burst out of the sea, shouting with joy.
“My master's gauntlet! I found it!”
Isabelle shook her head as if to say, *Look at that idiot,* and finished sending the message.
Leaning against the harbor railing, Isabelle let out a long yawn and looked up at the sky with sleepy eyes.
Two years had passed since they left Granada.
A lot had happened in that time.
Yes, enough drastic changes to make two years feel like ten.
***
*Beep.*
The white-haired man, Rex, checked the text message he had just received with a blank expression, then took a faceless stone statue from his coat.
As he fiddled with the statue, which radiated a gentle warmth, he sensed a presence and turned his head.
Seeing a dark-skinned boy staring at him intently, Rex asked.
“Do you want it?”
The boy nodded silently.
Rex held out the faceless statue, and the boy reached for it.
But he couldn't reach it.
The shackle and chain on the boy's ankle wouldn't allow him to get any closer to Rex.
The boy must have really wanted the statue, as he flailed his hand impatiently.
Rex extended his hand a little further, and the boy's hand finally touched the statue.
The boy's hand snatched at the statue greedily, like a frog's tongue catching a fly, but it didn't budge, held fast in Rex's grip.
“Uh...”
Rex spoke to the boy, who was looking at him with pleading eyes.
“There's nothing free in this world, and no kindness without a price. So promise me. Promise that you will pray to the Faceless One before this statue once a day.”
“Pray...?”
“Yes, and the Faceless One will grant your wish.”
“The Faceless... Who is that?”
“An existence that protects and guides humans.”
“A guiding existence... Is that a god? But my father told me humans don't have a god. He said praying was useless... that the only one you can believe in in this world is yourself...”
“That's right. Just as you said, humans have no god. So the Faceless One is not a god. Well, he is neither omniscient nor omnipotent, so that's only natural. Hmm, but that doesn't mean he's meaningless. The Faceless One is a merchant.”
“A merchant?”
“Yes, a merchant. If you pray and pledge to obey and follow the Faceless One... he will sell you hope.”
“Hope... I don't believe in things like that. Not since my father turned into a white corpse and this cold shackle was put on my foot.”
Rex looked at the boy with eyes as clear as glass beads and said.
“It doesn't matter whether you believe or not. But from what I can see, you need something to lean on right now. Yes, so much so that you'd even want to believe my lies...”
Rex let go, and the faceless statue passed into the boy's hands.
As the boy unconsciously hugged the statue, feeling its warmth, Rex spoke.
“Pray earnestly, and cling to it. And obey with your body and soul. Then who knows. A trivial miracle might just happen.”
As soon as Rex finished speaking, a white squirrel popped out of his pocket.
*Bbi-bbi!*
With a cute cry, the white squirrel climbed onto Rex's shoulder and tapped it with its adorable paws.
In response to the white squirrel's protest for being kept in a stuffy pocket, Rex tickled its nose with his index finger and said.
“You must have been bored. Sorry, I put you in my pocket and forgot all about you.”
*Bbi-i~ Bbi!*
The squirrel let out a sulky cry and took its revenge by slapping Rex's cheek with its tail.
Feeling the tickle of the fur ball on his cheek, Rex smiled and said.
“Alright, let's get going. We have a long way to go to cross the desert.”
No sooner had Rex spoken than Hwen called out to him from the other side.
At Hwen's words that the preparations for the crossing were complete, Rex left the boy behind and walked away.
The boy, realizing his fleeting hope that the man might save them was just a delusion, lowered his head with a gloomy expression.
Suddenly, the man's voice echoed in his ears.
*'There's nothing free in this world, and no kindness without a price. So pray... and obey?'*
As the boy mulled over Rex's words, which sounded like the missionary slogan of some pseudo-religion, his body staggered.
The chain connected to his shackle had started to move.
As a giant beast resembling a buffalo at the head of the line began to walk, the chains attached to its hind legs also began to stir.
Like a human train, hundreds of people were pulled along by the beast and began to move.
A fox-folk riding on the beast's back urged the humans on in a sharp voice.
“Move it, you damn bugs! Before I kill you all!”
The fox-folk even began to whip some of the slower humans.
The fox-folk cackled with delight at the thrilling impact transmitted through the tip of his whip.
Rex's gaze, which had briefly rested on the fox-folk, turned forward again.
As if whether the fox-folk tormented the humans or not had nothing to do with him.